Lightning, Bucs strike at regionals

The Buccaneers’ senior wasn’t going to let anything keep him off the field for Tuesday’s regional semifinal contest against Brighton.

Rose scored the game’s lone goal with 13 minutes remaining in the second half, giving Grand Haven a 1-0 win over Brighton in a game that was delayed nearly two hours because of thunder and lightning.

“I’ve had a lot of prior injuries, and any athlete will tell you that there’s nothing worse than having to sit out,” said Rose, who also missed time at the end of his junior season with an injury.

He said his connection with teammate Jacob Vanderlaan — the two played together on a Grand Rapids Crew travel team that won a national championship — led to the game-winning goal.

Vanderlaan threaded a perfect pass through a trio of Brighton defenders. Rose used his tremendous speed to catch up to the pass and touched the ball wide to the left, then sent a shot back to the right that eluded Bulldogs’ goalie Jack Grant and rolled into the goal, sending the Bucs to Friday night’s regional championship game.

To read more of this story, see today's print or E-edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.